Joe Manchin III

A Senator from West Virginia. Born August 24, 1947, in Farmington, Marion County, West Virginia. Graduated Farmington High School, Farmington, WV, 1965. B. A. , West Virginia University, 1970. Businessman. Member of the West Virginia house of delegates 1982-1986. Member of the West Virginia state senate 1986-1996. Unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1996. Secretary of State, West Virginia 2000-2004. Elected governor of West Virginia in 2004 and reelected in 2008. Chairman of the National Governors Association 2010. Elected as a Democrat to the U. S. Senate in a special election on November 2, 2010, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Robert C. Byrd, a seat subsequently held by appointed senator Carte Goodwin, and took the oath of office on November 15, 2010. Reelected in 2012, and again in 2018, and served from November 15, 2010, to January 3, 2025. Switched to Independent party status effective May 31, 2024. Vice-chair, Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (2017-2021, 2023-2025). Chair, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (One Hundred Seventeenth and One Hundred Eighteenth Congresses). Was not a candidate for reelection to the Senate in 2024.